Welcome Guest! In order to take advantage of all the great features that Waterloo Region Connected has to offer, including participating in the lively discussions below, you're going to have to register. The good news is that it'll take less than a minute and you can get started enjoying Waterloo Region's best online community right away.Login or Create an Account

(02-23-2015, 10:04 PM)Canard Wrote: Hwy 8/401 sure is taking a beating this winter. The potholes (craters!) are positively massive near Fairway. I wonder how long before someone looses a wheel.

They were bad last year too. I complained to the MTO then and they were temporarily patched, and then the top layer of asphalt was milled and repaved last summer in the bad sections. Although hard to tell now, you can tell the areas where there has been spot repaving.

The main origin of this issue was they did some crack sealing with tar about two summers ago. To do this, the cracks have to be cut and opened to create a proper crevice to get tar seal in. This process however breaks into the surface layer of asphalt, which also lets water get in. They didn't do a good job of crack sealing, which rather than create potholes, the top layer of asphalt on Highway 8 is crumbling away in parts with the winter freezing.

(02-23-2015, 12:27 AM)jamincan Wrote: I thought this tidbit was interesting. When they connected Westmount to Filsinger Rd (Westmount now in Kitchener), the original understanding was that Waterloo would pay for the CNR bridge over Westmount as Kitchener had paid for the bridge over Belmont. Waterloo reneged on the deal, and so in retaliation, Kitchener refused to widen Weber to four lanes from Victoria north to Waterloo.

This is where Regional Roads now benefit us (post 1973). As Westmount Road clearly serves a regional function connecting North Dumfries in the south (I'm thinking back to when Fischer-Hallman south of present day Westmount used to be Westmount Road) to Woolwich Township in the north, the regional tax base would cover something like this, rather than a city tax levy, resulting in bickering between the lower tier municipalities.

An observation from the recently updated Google Earth imagery, you can clearly see the land saved by the MTO for the hwy 8/401 interchange ramps at the north end of Limerick Rd. The remainder of the land to the south is now being developed into a subdivision.

How do you know that land was being saved by the MTO? It's not in the way of the future 8->west 401 interchange at all. I could see it ending any possibility of extending the 8 south, but I imagine it's been a long time since anyone suggested doing that.

(02-26-2015, 12:44 PM)Markster Wrote: How do you know that land was being saved by the MTO? It's not in the way of the future 8->west 401 interchange at all. I could see it ending any possibility of extending the 8 south, but I imagine it's been a long time since anyone suggested doing that.

Ah!
I get it, I misinterpreted your sentence:"you can clearly see the land saved by the MTO for the hwy 8/401 interchange ramps at the north end of Limerick Rd which is now being developed into a subdivision."
which I read to mean:"you can clearly see the land saved by the MTO [...] which is now being developed into a subdivision"
To which I thought "No, the land saved by the MTO isn't getting subdivided."

When you were in fact referring to the land on the north end of Limerick Rd being developed. Not the MTO land.

The stoplight for the off ramp from the westbound 401 has me sold. Trying to turn left onto Highway 8 to get to Cambridge from that ramp is a hair-pulling experience at the best of times, let alone rush hour.

Apologies if this was discussed previously here or on the WW board, but Has the City of Waterloo ever considered making both Bridgeport and Erb two-way?

I would think that with one lane in each direction and a centre turning lane on both the capacity would be about the same and it would have the benefit of making the two streets more pedestrian friendly.

Although I guess the point where they merge out by the expressway might make for an awkward intersection/roundabout.

About Waterloo Region Connected

Launched in August 2014, Waterloo Region Connected is an online community that brings together all the things that make Waterloo Region great. Waterloo Region Connected provides user-driven content fueled by a lively discussion forum covering topics like urban development, transportation projects, heritage issues, businesses and other issues of interest to those in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the four Townships - North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich.